1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a printing apparatus and a facsimile equipment incorporating the same and, more particularly, it relates to a printing apparatus and a facsimile incorporating the same having an image memory which temporarily stores an image data of one sheet of original image read as dot data by an image reading unit such as a scanner, or received by the communication with the other facsimile equipment.
2. Descrption of the Prior Art
A facsimile equipment which does not transmit or copy the original as the object to be transmitted or copied while reading it by means of a reading unit such as a scanner, or print the image data from the other facsimile equipment with a printing apparatus while receiving the same, but transmit or prints the image data which has been read or received and stored temporarily in one sheet of original image in an image memory is practically used.
Now in the aforementioned facsimile equipment, it is generally constituted as such that the conventional printing apparatus is allowed to print only the maximum size of, for example, A4 size (210.times.297 mm) or B4 size (257.times.364 mm) (B group is stipulated in JIS), thus when an image memory has a capacity of storing the image data of A3 size to the maximum larger than the A4 or B4 size, the original of A3 size (297.times.430 mm) which has been read.
In such facsimile equipment, since an image obtained by the printer or a hard copy is reduced in comparison with the size of the original, documents and the like are hard to read, and when a book or notebook is opened to provide one sheet of original of two pages, fine view is spoiled by a seam appeared in the center thereof.
With respect to such problems pertained to the conventional facsimile equipment, for example, Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 61-198873 (1986) has been proposed.
The facsimile equipment of above invention is constituted as such that the image data which has been read is transmitted by dividing into the size corresponding to the print size of the facsimile equipment on the receiver side. The facsimile equipment also includes means for converting inversely the vertical and lateral reading of the image data or the main and subscanning directions. In addition, the facsimile equipment includes a memory means for storing one of the divided image data, and is adapted to transmit the other image data to the other facsimile equipment while storing the former in the memory means.
In such facsimile equipment, for example, the original which is composed of two opened pages may be divided in two portions after being read for printing. That is, after the original of two pages of A4 size is read as one A3 size, which may be divided in the center lengthwise to obtain two sheets of hard copies of A4 size.
In the facsimile equipment of such invention, however, a directional discrepancy of respective resolutions of the reading unit and printing apparatus come into problem.
That is, the resolution of the facsimile equipment is internationally standardized as such that, for example, the horizontal resolution in the main scanning direction of the reading unit is set at 8 pels/mm, and the vertical resolution in the subscanning direction at 7.7 lines/mm. Although not standardized, the facsimile equipment having the horizontal resolution of, for example, 16 pels/mm and the vertical resolution of 15.4 lines/mm is on the market. In such facsimile equipment, since pitches of the pels in the main scanning direction and subscanning direction are different when, for example, the image of A3 size is divided in two in the center lengthwise or in the subscanning direction at reading to obtain two hard copies of A4 size, the main scanning direction and subscanning direction change place at reading the A3 size original and at printing the read image as the A4 size hard copies respectively, so that the length/width ratio of the image differs from the original to produce distorted hard copies.
Likewise, when the image data of original of A3 size which has been read is divided into A4 size for transmission, even though the volume of image data is similar, the volume of code to be transmitted is increased in general, and moreover, a prescribed time is required for communication procedures respectively with respect to each sheet of image, so that it generally takes longer time than transmitting one sheet of A3 size image data.